


Life Is Super Strange

by SeventeenthStar



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, I hope you like it, I took two of the gayest things I could think of and put them together, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, SuperCorp, cause it's super gay, life is strange au, mention of violence, supergirl - Freeform, tw school shooting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-11-12 10:00:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventeenthStar/pseuds/SeventeenthStar
Summary: Kara Danvers attends a special Academy with her friends, none of which know she's an alien and has powers. One day, a new student with an infamous name and an alluring smile transfers to her school and she and Kara become fast friends. With her new friend Lena, they encounter the darker corners of their school and work together to discover its mysteries. Will Kara be able to keep her alien lineage from Lena with them entering dangerous territory?A Supergirl High School AU heavily inspired by the events and places in the game Life Is Strange, but instead of Max and Chloe investigating it's Kara and Lena. Kara is still kryptonian, Clark is still Superman, and Kara is a gay mess.[NOTE: You do NOT have to be a fan of Life is Strange to enjoy this. It's just a similar setting and story inspired by the game.]





	1. Chrysalis

**Author's Note:**

> Good golly, friends! This is my first ever fic so I hope it's enjoyable! My hope is to update daily, mostly because I need these gays in my life. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments or hit me up on twitter @SeventeenthStar or my tumblr seventeenthstar.

 

It was early Spring and Kara could barely contain herself as she sat in her engineering class next to the long, sunny windows.  _ Finally _ , she thought with a dreamy smile,  _ some sunny weather! _ The last few months had been rainy and cold, which was common around the small Sunwall Academy campus during the winter. Or at least that was what Alex, Kara’s older sister, informed her during her first week at the academy. Kara hadn’t been able to hide her disappointment. The name “Sunwell” felt like a joke to her. The yellow sun had barely been out all winter and it’d left her feeling listless. 

“Miss Danvers,” The sound of Professor Henshaw’s voice saying her name tore Kara unwillingly from her thoughts and she felt her stomach drop as she turned her gaze to the imposing man, “I know it’s a nice day outside, but it’d be good to pay attention before your grades drop so low that you end up on Academic Suspension…  _ Again.” _

“Um… yes, sir,” Kara reached up to fidget with her glasses and sat up a little straighter, until she heard an unveiled chuckle from Maxwell Lord behind her, causing her to slouch back in her seat just a little. “...Sorry.”

Winn--who was sitting at a table across the room next to their friend Jimmy--turned and gave her a sympathetic look, one that she’d grown a little sick of seeing, but still she gave him a slight smile as a thank you. 

“Now, Miss Danvers,” Henshaw continued, “can you tell me which famous writer it was who first used the word ‘Robotics’?” 

She hadn’t been listening. Professor Henshaw knew she hadn’t been listening. Heck, the whole class knew she hadn’t been listening. Kara could feel the blush running up her neck to her cheeks as she snuck a look at Winn who was pointing wildly at his eye and then waving at the student sitting ahead of him. 

Kara’s brows furrowed in confusion as she watched Winn motioning wildly across the classroom.  _ I can do this _ , she thought,  _ tons of charades at Game Night has prepared me for this moment.  _ “It was a mister, um… eye… eye…?” Why was win pointing at Zack in front of him? “Oh! Isaac!” 

Winn and Jimmy each shot her an enthusiastic thumbs up as Professor Henshaw approached her table, giving her a stern look. “And his surname?”

This time Kara had to lean to her left just a little to see Winn where he was sitting, or… well,  _ was  _ sitting. Winn had stood up, turned around, and bent over with his backside pointing in her direction as he bounced slightly on his heels and Jimmy covered his mouth to keep from laughing. What… what was he doing? “Uuuuh,” Kara said, confused as ever, “butt…wave...?” 

Henshaw’s famous glare met her where she sat, “Miss Danvers, now is not the time for childish jokes about historical figures.”

Kara didn’t understand. 

“Isaac Asimov,” came Maxwell’s mocking voice from behind her, “he was the same Sci-Fi author who created the three laws of robotics.” 

_ Oh,  _ Kara thought as her face turned a bright shade of red,  _ he meant ‘ass’, not… ‘butt.’  _ How was she to know? Earthen names were so strange to her compared to the names on Krypton, and, well, she didn’t know much about Earth history. 

“Very good, Mr. Lord,” the professor said approvingly as he turned and walked back to the head of the classroom. 

“Of course Hank,” Maxwell said with a thick smile in his voice that made Kara instinctively bunch up her fist under the table, “it doesn’t take a genius to simply pay attention.”

Maxwell was bragging. He  _ was _ a genius and everyone at the academy knew as much, even though this was meant to be a place of advanced learning. A school for the “academically gifted.” 

Kara sighed inwardly, at least the moment had passed and it appeared that Professor Henshaw didn’t appreciate Max being so informal with him, but before he could say anything more the door to the class opened and the headmistress stepped through with a dark haired girl in tow. 

“Hank,” she said, “your new student is here. Do be a dear and find her a student to show her around today. I haven’t the time.”

The new student was perhaps one of the most beautiful people Kara had ever seen, which was  _ really _ saying something because Kara had been to eight planets. Her hair was dark, long, ending in wavy curls that framed her pale face in beautiful contrast. Her clothes were what Kara could only describe as ‘business casual,’ the sort of thing that you’d expect someone to wear to an interview, but they were fashionable and most likely very expensive.

“Of course, thank you Cat,” Henshaw said with a nod as Cat Grant exited and the dark-haired girl strode gracefully to stand next to him, “Students, this is Lena Luthor. A transfer from our sister school in Ireland.”

Excited murmurs broke out among the students immediately as the professor motioned for her to sit in the only available seat in the room, right next to Kara.

The Luthor name was infamous at Sunwell. Not only did they practically own the school with the amount of donations they sent, but their so-called “Golden Boy” had brought a gun to school while he was a senior, five years ago. He’d injured five students and a teacher, and even killed two students in cold blood. Kara knew the story very well; her cousin Clark had been a student at the time. In fact, Clark and the shooter Lex had been best friends. But something turned dark between them, as the initial target had been her cousin. The Luthor name was worshipped here, feared, but this was the first a Luthor had stepped foot in the school since the tragedy. 

Kara tensed as Lena Luthor crossed the room and as she neared the table, Kara couldn’t stop herself from jumping out of her seat and moving aside so Lena could take her seat by the window. Lena’s presence was strong, careful. 

But she smiled. She was smiling at Kara. 

“Uh, I thought that… um,” Kara stumbled over her words as her hand instinctively touched her glasses, “that you might like the window?” 

Lena’s smile hadn’t faded, but she had taken in Kara with her green eyes very easily as she bit her lip, watching Kara shuffle nervously, “Mhm. Many thanks.” 

The new girl took the seat and the class quieted.

“Good idea, Kara,” the professor said with only a hint of a playful tone in his voice, “now perhaps you can quit daydreaming and actually pay attention in class.” 

_ Not likely,  _ Kara thought as she lowered uneasily in her seat. She was trying to get a good look at Lena without being obvious… and suddenly Kara worried that she might be staring, but she couldn’t help it. Lena was… well, stunning. 

Professor Henshaw quieted the class and continued with the lesson as if he’d never stopped in the first place. 

 

***

 

Why did that feel like the longest class of Kara’s life? Henshaw had droned on and on and Kara had barely listened as she watched Lena take careful notes next to her. Her handwriting was immaculate and was that… Was she writing in shorthand? Kara had tried to make sense of the words in Lena’s notebook but barely could. 

Kara barely heard the bell when it went off. She’d been too focused on the profile of Lena’s face. She only noticed that the other students were leaving when suddenly Lena was looking right at her. 

Silence. 

“Kara, was it?” Lena asked with a smile.

Silence.

“I’m Lena,” she said, lifting her eyebrows at a slack-jawed Kara. 

“Oh! Oh, right,” Kara responded quickly as her head returned to earth, “Yes. That-That’s me. Kara… Kara Danvers. That is… my name.”

Lena appeared amused at the disheveled girl in front of her. “It’s a pleasure, Kara.”

Wait, did everyone always speak this formally?

“I thought that perhaps you’d be the one willing to show me the campus?” Lena continued, “The professor appears to have forgotten.”

_ No _ , Kara thought,  _ no one is ever this polite, this formal. We’re teenagers, what has gotten into this girl?  _ Kara looked around the classroom for a quick moment. Lena was right, Professor Henshaw had already exited the room. Actually, they were the only ones still in it. 

“I could do that!” Kara said with a smile. Somehow, looking into those green eyes, it was easy to forget that Lena was a Luthor, and even harder to say no. Clark would disapprove.

“Shall we go?” Lena asked and Kara nodded and gathered her things. 

“You know, you’re lucky to have me as your guide ‘cause I know all the good spots around Sunwall,” Kara smiled as Lena followed her towards the exit.

“I’ll retain my judgement until after the tour,” Lena responded, her face serious, “but if there aren’t snacks somewhere in this tour I’ll have to drop my Yelp review by one star.”

Kara paused, looking back at Lena who was now grinning at her. “What’s a Yelp?” Kara asked right as she bumped into Winn outside the door. He fell with a loud  _ hyumph _ , his books (which Kara noticed were actually well-disguised copies of a popular manga) scattered across the linoleum floor around him. “Oh, oh Winn!! I’m so sorry!” Kara knelt down immediately to help him gather his things while James and Lena shared an amused grin. 

“Kara, you are like a wall,” Winn said as Kara helped him up without any effort whatsoever, “Uh, do you work out?” 

Kara’s eyes widened at her friend. The only student at the school who knew about Kara’s alien origins was her sister Alex, who reminded her regularly not to let anyone know her secret. “Oh, um,” Kara released a quick breath, pushing her glasses farther up her nose as her mind raced for an excuse, “just, uh, adrenaline,” she decided on, “you startled me.”

Winn didn’t seem to believe her, but he brushed it off. “I have a better question. How do you not know what Yelp is?”

Kara lifted her eyebrows at Winn, surprised that he’d heard her conversation with Lena. “Isn’t it the sound an animal sometimes makes when someone hurts it?”

“Well, she’s not wrong,” James said with a smile and a shrug before turning his eyes on Lena, his body language changing immediately in the presence of the Luthor he didn’t trust, “So you’re Lena Luthor. My name is James, I’m a good friend of Kara’s.” He put a bit of emphasis on the word ‘good,’ trying to warn the Luthor to stay away from his friend. Despite his feelings, he reached out his hand to shake Lena’s.

But Lena was barely paying attention to him, instead she was watching Winn take out his phone and explain to Kara the ins-and-outs of Yelp. “James, yes,” Lena said to him with barely a glance, “Pleasure to meet you.” She didn’t move to shake his hand and he dropped it, an annoyed expression on his face.

“People on this planet are so judgemental,” Kara said in a huff as she gently pushed Winn’s phone away from her and back to him, “Anyway, why were you two out here?”

Winn looked to the side, his hand brushing the back of his neck. It was obvious that he was a little embarrassed, “I just wanted to see if you were okay after what happened in class…”

Kara furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what it was that he meant.

“The, uh, ‘Butt Wave’ thing, Kara?” He said when he realized that she didn’t know what he was talking about. 

_ Oh. That.  _ Kara had been so distracted by Lena joining the class that she’d completely forgotten about their haphazard game of charades that got her chastised by Henshaw. “I, uh,” she shook her head, “it’s fine. I did appreciate your help, though.” She shrugged then, “Maybe we need to have more game nights. Who knows when that will become useful again.”

James and Winn laughed as Kara smiled, happy that Lena hadn’t been there to see her and her friends make fools of themselves. 

Lena cleared her throat, “While I’d love to hear about this… ‘butt wave,’ I believe I was promised a tour?” Lena’s tone was light and she smiled at the group of friends despite feeling a little on the outside. She was used to the feeling, after all.

Kara straightened up and snapped her fingers, “Right! I was forgetting about my very important guide duties,” she smiled at her friends and began to pull Lena away, “if you’ll excuse us, boys.”

James nodded as Winn mumbled a goodbye, a little disheartened by Kara’s lack of an invitation. Kara turned her attention to Lena as they walked together down the hallway when Lena grabbed the hand that Kara had used to pull Lena away by her arm and instead re-positioned it so they were walking with their arms linked.

Kara swallowed hard, but Lena didn’t seem to notice. “If you’re going to be so forward, Kara, then you may want to do so a little less forcefully,” she said teasingly and Kara yelped quietly, feeling a blush run up her cheeks. 

It was apparently injured animals  _ and  _ Kara who made the yelping sound.

The girls didn’t notice the mix of glares and confused expressions of the students around them as they went about their tour, but Kara couldn’t escape the feeling that Lena was going to be someone very important to her as they walked arm in arm.


	2. What Friends Are For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their way to the dorms, Lena and Kara run into a visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LIFE IS STRANGE PREQUEL WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
> 
> Ahem, anyway. I decided to break up this chapter so I could push something out for you guys to read. Not a tremendous amount of plot here, but you do get a little of Lena's POV as well as maybe the beginning of some angst idk. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Lena had learned a lot about Kara during their short walk around the inside of the school.  Kara somehow made everything seem exciting with her unending enthusiasm, she was perhaps the brightest person that Lena had ever met. Kara seemed to know everyone’s name, despite there being many more students than the sister academy in Ireland that Lena had attended. (Her school had only 100 students-all female-while Sunwall appeared to have three times as many.) Kara also had _a lot_ of stories, which she told Lena animatedly.

Most of all, though, Lena learned that Kara was _adorable_ and fabulously endearing.

It was hours later when they finally exited the building out to the front of the campus; another hour or so and it would be time for sunset. Lena didn’t mind how long the tour was taking, though, she quite enjoyed the presence of the blond. _Not bad to look at either,_ Lena thought as they walked down the stone steps.

Kara would be taller than Lena, if Lena hadn’t been wearing heels. The blond moved with an almost nervous energy, in fact she was always moving. She also had a habit of fidgeting with her glasses and pulling at the hem of her cardigan whenever she was anxious. For someone with so much charisma, Kara didn’t appear to have much confidence in herself and seemed to always be trying to take up as little space as possible.

“-and everyone seems to like to sit around the Luthor fountain during lunch and breaks between classes, but I prefer over there at the tables by the trees so much more. Sometimes you can see squirrels and I just really love watching them scurry and there’s actually kind of a lot around here… Did you check out the fountain on your way into school? I mean, it is dedicated to your father so I guess that’s pretty cool...” Kara was speaking so fast now that Lena was having trouble keeping up.

But yes. Of course she’d noticed the fountain with the giant statue of her so-called father on her way in. In fact, she remembered her mother organizing the unveiling years ago after he’d passed. At the time, Lena thought it was a sweet gesture, but after actually _seeing_ it she felt like it was a little… Well, it was simply too much.

Lionel Luthor stood at nearly twenty feet tall in the center of the fountain, a large spinning earth in his raised left hand, spilling water into the pool below. All of this was fine, except for the look on his face. Instead of looking to the sky, or at the globe in his hand, he appeared to be sneering down at the people around the fountain. Almost as if he controlled the world, and they were all just his pawns who could do nothing but watch. It made Lena uncomfortable. Her father was nothing like the cold centerpiece of his memorial.

“Lena??”

“Oh, yes. It’s… cool,” she felt the distaste flow off of her words, but Kara either didn’t notice or didn’t want to bring it up. Instead, she smiled at Lena and reached out a hand to hold hers and squeeze it for a quick moment before letting go. Lena wasn’t used to so much physical affection, but she found herself missing it immediately when she let go.

“Do you know which dorm you’re in yet?” Kara asked as she sat on the edge of the fountain wall for a quick rest. Lena didn’t sit. “I mean, uh, we could continue your tour there if you’d like. I could help you find it.”

Lena already knew where her room was. She’d seen it the day before, full of unopened boxes of her things. Kara didn’t have to know that she already knew her way to her room, and Lena didn’t want to lose her guide quite yet. “It would be a major help if you could take me there. I’m in the Lucinda Luthor dorms. Room 3D.” Lena felt weird, staying in a place named after her great grandmother. Things weren’t so… Luthor-centric at Atron Girl’s Academy in Ireland. It was going to take some getting used to.

Kara nodded with a smile and waved a hand at the open spot next to her, “You don’t want to sit and take a break? We’ve been wandering for awhile.”

Lena glanced up at her father sneering above them and shook her head, “I seem to remember you mentioned squirrels. Maybe we could rest there instead?”

Kara’s face lit up immediately, obviously happy that Lena _had_ been listening to her. “Of course! It’s way better than hanging out with Leering Luthor over here.” Her eyes widened immediately after the words fell from her mouth and she jumped up immediately, her shoulders tensing, “Sorry! I didn’t mean anything by that, Lena! No offense whatsoever!”

Lena couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “None taken. It is pretty creepy, honestly,” she said waving dismissively.

Kara sighed with relief. “Okay, good… good,” she fidgeted with her glasses, not looking directly at Lena.

It was then that a voice called for Kara in the distance. They turned to see a smiling Clark Kent walking towards them. “Clark!” Kara swayed back and forth on her heels excitedly, waving the man over.

Lena had met Clark Kent a few times before. He and her brother Lex had been good friends and Clark had come with him to visit their summer home on many occasions. Lena had always liked Clark--maybe a little _too_ much if she was being honest, she’d harbored a crush on him for a few years--but now seeing him made her stomach lurch. She hadn’t seen him since Lex’s trial after the incident.

Clark neared them, his smile disappearing once he noticed Lena. Kara was moving to hug him when he spoke, his eyes transfixed on the youngest Luthor before him. “Lena. I didn’t know you’d moved back to the states,” his tone wasn’t approving and Kara dropped her arms, foregoing the hug.

“Mother thought it would be a good change of scenery,” Lena responded conversationally, not allowing his disapproving gaze to shake her, “It’s nice to see you, Clark. I hope things have been well.”

A pregnant silence followed after. Kara fiddling with the hem of her shirt, not sure what to do, while Lena stood her ground against the unhappy man.

“As well as they can be,” he finally responded before turning to Kara, “I’m visiting from Metropolis to interview Cat Grant on her resignation from the school for the _Daily Planet,_ but my interview isn’t until tomorrow so I thought that maybe we could spend some time together tonight? I haven’t seen you in a couple months, Kara.”

Kara furrowed her eyebrows, “Wait, Ms. Grant is resigning?”

Lena could hear the panic in Kara’s voice and held back from reaching out to take her hand to comfort her. Lena wasn’t used to… Well, feeling the need to comfort anyone. Especially not a girl that she’d only just met.

Clark nodded, all but ignoring Lena now, “Yes. You didn’t know?” Kara responded by shaking her head, “I guess it’s a very recent thing,” he said with a shrug, “but what do you say to a drive out to the lighthouse? It’d be good to catch up and I know how much you love it there.”

“Actually, I already have plans. Sorry, Clark! You should have called.”

“Plans?” Clark glanced at Lena.

“Yes. I promised Lena a tour of the campus tonight.”

Lena was taken aback. “Kara, you don’t-”

“That’s what friends are for,” Kara interrupted with another bright smile.

Lena couldn’t respond. Instead she just stared at Kara, her heart fluttering. Kara was her _friend_. Friends were something that Lena didn’t have many of, even back in Ireland. But the few friends she did have were nowhere near as kind and open as Kara Danvers, or as cute, and now she was looking at Lena with sparkling blue eyes and had called her “friend.” Lena felt a blush rising up her cheeks.

Clark cleared his throat, breaking up the moment. “Kara, can I talk to you?”

 

* * *

 

 

While Kara was thrilled to see her cousin, she couldn’t say the same about his treatment of Lena. It was uncommon for Clark to show disdain for, well, anyone other than Lex. She didn’t know that it extended to the other Luthors as well.

She was looking at Lena and Lena was looking back at her. _Really_ looking at her with awe painted on her face, and Kara could feel the butterflies in her stomach as she began to reach out to take Lena’s hand to comfort her and ensure her that _yes_ Kara was serious and _yes_ they were friends.

And then Clark cleared his throat and Kara dropped her hand before touching Lena as the other girl’s expression turned from awe to that of unreadable stone.

“Kara, can I talk to you?”

Kara felt a sigh escape her lips, not excited where this was going. She shrugged, “Sorry, Lena. We’ll just be a minute.” Clark grabbed onto Kara, pulling her out of the brunette's earshot.

“Kara,” he said with quiet urgency, “That is Lena _Luthor_.”

She crossed her arms, “I know.”

“Her brother has _hurt_ people, Kara.”

Her expression didn’t change, “I know.”

Clark sighed, exasperated.

“Clark,” Kara reached out, rubbing his arm lightly, “I know what Lex did. I know it was awful, and nothing can excuse that but…” she dropped her hand, “Lena is not her brother. She actually seems really nice.”

Clark stared at her before glancing back at Lena who was pretending to be very interested in something on her phone. “There is no such thing as a good Luthor,” he said finally.

Kara shook her head, “I appreciate you looking out for me or whatever, but I don’t need it.”

Another silence passed between them.

“I need to go. Good luck with your article,” Kara said finally, pulling Clark into a hug which he returned without hesitation.

“Alright,” he said, relenting, “Just… be careful.”

Kara grinned. “You’re forgetting that you’re not the only invincible one here.”

A dark look fell on Clark’s face for a quick moment before he smiled just slightly, almost sadly. “I meant what I said. Please be careful.”

 

* * *

 

 

A few minutes later, Kara and Lena were sitting together on a wooden bench, leaning back on the table behind them as Kara stared up into the tree above them. They hadn’t really said much since Clark left, and he hadn’t said goodbye to Lena, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“This is my favorite table,” Kara said finally, turning to look at the other girl who appeared to be deep in thought, “Lena? Are you okay?”

Lena nodded, “Perfectly fine. I do have a question for you, though.”

Kara smiled, flipping one of her legs over the bench to straddle it so she could look directly at Lena. “And I have an answer!”

“Is Clark Kent your boyfriend or something? You seemed… close.”

Kara’s laugh was loud, embarrassed. “Oh, oh no! Not at all, oh,” her face was red as she shook her head, “he’s my cousin.”

Lena’s expression was unreadable. “Oh.”

Kara watched her new friend for a moment, “Is that… is that a problem?”

Lena looked back at Kara then, a small smile appearing on her face, “You know, when you’re worried about something you get this little crinkle between your eyebrows.”

Kara leaned back, a hand flying up to cover the crinkle in question, “Ah, yes… it’s a dead giveaway. My sister teases me about it all the time. You caught onto it rather quick.” She laughed nervously.

“Mhm. Mother made it a priority to teach Lex and I how to read people since we were very young. Said that it was the key to keeping control of social situations and corporate deals.”

Kara tilted her head, “That seems… sort of a strange thing to teach a child. Growing up I learned how to share.”

Lena laughed, a genuine smile on her face, “Lillian Luthor cares more about power and forcing her own ideals onto others more than sharing.”

Kara put her hand over Lena’s which was sitting on her lap, “I’m sure she just thought it would help you out in the world. Everyone sees things a little differently.”

Lena raised an eyebrow at her and a mischievous smile spread across her lips, Kara found it, well, very attractive _._ “At the very least, I do play a killer game of poker.”

Kara laughed, pulling her hand away before she passed any of Lena’s invisible boundaries. She didn’t even know if the touching made Lena uncomfortable but she was just _so_ _soft_. Kara cleared her throat, throwing her other leg over the bench so she was facing the table. “Alex doesn’t like to play poker with me. She says I cheat.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie. Poker used to be one of Alex’s favorite games for them to play, but Kara got sick of always losing all her halloween candy to her sister and she’d begun to use her x-ray vision to read the cards. Alex was not happy, but at least Kara got to eat all the chocolate she wanted every halloween since.

“You, a cheater? I actually wouldn’t have expected that from you, but it’s good to know before I challenge you to a game,” Lena replied with a smile.

“Hey! I never said I _was_ a cheater!”

“Uh-huh.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Kara’s eyes determined and Lena’s issuing a challenge.

“I’m sure we’ll get the chance to play,” Kara said, “and I will beat you fair and square!”

Lena smiled, watching the sky change it’s hues from its usual blue to the sunset’s oranges and reds as the sun slowly moved below the horizon. She looked beautiful in this lighting.

“Maybe you should show me to my dorm before it gets dark,” she said, her eyes now on Kara.

Oops, Kara had been staring _and_ she’d completely forgotten what they were supposed to be doing. “I suppose this guide’s breaktime is over.” She stood and stretched, “Off we go, then!” She offered a hand to help Lena up, which Lena accepted with a shy smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time Kara gets to see Lena's room and it's fluffy and gay I promise.
> 
> Again, if you wanna shoot me a message or follow me you can find me on twitter @SeventeenthStar or follow my tumblr which is also seventeenthstar. Feel free to yell at me to write more, I thrive off of pressure and validation haha.
> 
> Also, I'm open to any suggestions! I have a general idea where this is going, but much of it is still open.


	3. I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff happens and it's a little bit gay, but only a little bit I'm sorry I promise it will get gayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooooo! I am so sorry about posting this so late... and I originally meant for it to be longer but this way we can have the late-night hi-jinks in their own chapter.

Lena’s building was right next to Kara’s, while across the way stood the boy’s dorms.  From the outside, the buildings were nearly identical. Three stories of red brick accented with white around the windows. Inside, however, each building was quite a lot different. Kara had never been inside the Lucinda Dorms (she’d never had any reason to), but she’d heard the stories. The rooms were rumored to be larger than the rooms in Kara’s building, but they had smaller group living areas. 

Kara and Lena approached the building, but stopped just before taking the steps to the front door. Their path was blocked by a pack of four girls that didn’t seem to be paying them any mind. Stretched out comfortably they talked and laughed even as Kara and Lena stood above them. 

Kara recognized these girls, of course. It was a small school and they didn’t have an overabundance of students, but she’d only had classes with one of them in the past. In the center of the group was their obvious leader. A wealthy girl who’d transferred in a year ago by the name of Veronica Sinclair. She carried herself with an overstated sense of elegance that dripped with disdain for anyone she deemed unworthy, but she was beautiful.  Veronica was always well dressed, with her ashen brown hair done up and her red lips always pierced together like she’d heard a delicious secret. 

Kara finally cleared her throat and Veronica turned her head to review them lazily. Her eyes ran slowly from Kara’s toes to her head before she turned to Lena with a counterfeit smile. “She doesn’t seem your type, babe. I thought you preferred older men.”

Kara tilted her head, confused. 

“Veronica. I wasn’t aware that this was where you’d gotten off to,” Lena responded to the girl between gritted teeth.  _ Oh. _ So they knew each other. 

Veronica hummed a positive response, “I find that I much prefer the scenery here than what we had available in Ireland,” at that a group of boys passed by them to their dorms and the girls waved at them with flirtatious smiles. Kara had to hold back an eye roll. 

Lena and Veronica held eye contact for a long moment, and Kara felt like there was some sort of exchange between them that she was missing as she waited for Lena to say something, anything. This moment was drawing on too long and it was making Kara uncomfortable. 

At last Veronica turned her head lazily to the others around her, “Girls,” she said with a wave as they moved just enough for Lena and Kara to pass by them. “See you tonight, Lena,” Veronica said with a grin as they opened the door. 

Once inside the building, Lena let out an audible sigh and Kara raised her eyebrows, “What was that about?”

“Power play,” Lena responded as they made their way to the stairs, “she wanted me to ask them to move so she could flaunt around a bit before finally letting us through. It shows that she’s the one in control.”

“You didn’t ask her to move, though,” Kara replied.

“No,” Lena said with a mischievous glint in her eye, “I didn’t.”

It didn’t take long before they’d made it to the third and final floor. They turned the corner and Kara took a moment as they walked past the community living area to inspect it. It was quite a bit smaller than the one on her floor in her dorm and she wondered what the private rooms were actually like. 

“What did she mean when she said she’d see you tonight?” Kara asked as they walked to the end of the hall.

“If here is anything like Atron, it means they have some sort of hazing ritual for new students who will be staying in this dorm,” Lena responded as she looked up at the door on her left. “This is my room, chances are that they have a key to every room in the building… Including this one. They’ll come, wake me up, and then try to get me to do something ridiculous or stupid… Or both, really. That’d be the most likely thing,” she shrugged, taking her own key out of her bag and slipping it in the lock to open the door. 

“This ‘ritual’ doesn’t sound very nice…” Kara muttered as the door opened before her. 

Lena’s room was… Well, kind of boring.  It appeared to have already been set up, but everything was so sleek, modern, and minimalistic.  It didn’t feel like a living space at all. They stepped inside while Lena moved to pick around her closet and Kara looked around curiously.  On Lena’s desk was what appeared to be a family picture, but they looked a bit like zombies to Kara. One thing that  _ did _ excite Kara, however, was the large flat-screen tv at the foot of Lena’s bed. Perfect for marathons, Kara thought with a smile as she eyed it almost hungrily. 

“Found it,” came Lena’s muffled voice from inside the closet as she pulled out an unopened cardboard box and grinned at Kara, “I had the movers sneak in this box for me. Mother tried to throw these things out, but I have my ways.” Lena opened the box and Kara stood over her curiously as she began to take things out. “To add a bit more of a personal touch to my room,” Lena said as she handed Kara a rolled up poster.

Kara unrolled the poster and found herself smiling, almost relieved that Lena wasn’t going to be spending her off time in a room decorated so coldly. The poster was from the very first Harry Potter movie and it was covered in bright marker, “Signed?” Kara asked, her mouth opening slightly in surprise.

“Yes,” Lena said with a smile as she snatched it out of Kara’s hands and began to look around for a place to hang it, “I managed to win it at a charity auction a long time ago. Mother has never been big into pop culture and she was furious.” Lena was obviously pleased with herself which made Kara smile. Was this the way that Lena rebelled? Buying things she liked, decorating her room to her own taste? Kara felt the slightest tinge of sadness as she turned to dig through the box as Lena found a spot for her poster. 

The first thing Kara found was a decently sized Stitch plush from Lilo and Stitch. She took him out with a smile and hugged him close for a moment before setting him delicately on the bed, patting his head before returning the box. (She didn’t notice Lena watch her do this with a fond expression on her face.) The next thing she found was a statue of darth vader bowing. It felt… expensive. She moved over to Lena’s desk and set it on one of the shelves, silently pleased that her new friend was a secret nerd… hopefully Kara would be able to help her come out of the closet a bit over the next few months. There was no reason to hide interests like these here.

They carried on like that for the next two hours, picking something in the box and finding it a place within Lena’s new room while sometimes getting distracted by something inside the box and chatting about it excitedly before moving onto the next thing. It was through doing this that Kara learned that Lena was a fan of Doctor Who (classic and new), Harry Potter (books over movies, but she enjoyed both), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lord of the Rings, and many many Disney movies. Kara noticed that Lena seemed to prefer the Disney films where family tended to be a huge theme, but she said nothing of it. 

“That’s the last of it,” Lena said with a sigh, “I wish I could have brought my light saber but it didn’t fit in the box…”

Kara shook her head, “What a loss.”

Lena bumped into her lightly and chuckled, “My Star Wars paraphernalia is of no laughing matter, Kara.”

“You could have fooled me,” Kara responded as she moved to open a third door on the side of the room that they hadn't opened yet, “What’s back here?”

Kara’s eyes widened as she took in what was behind the door, moving her hand quickly to the wall to flip on the light switch. “No way! You have your own bathroom!”

Lena moved behind her, tilting to the side to see in past her friend, “Yes? Isn’t that normal?”

“No!” Kara exclaimed, nearly hopping into the bathroom as she moved to the shower and turned it on, allowing the water to run over her fingers as she looked back at Lena with jealous eyes, “The water’s  _ warm _ , Lena.”

Lena found herself laughing out loud before Kara splashed her and turned off the running water. “This is so unfair! You try sharing a bathroom with a floor of fifteen other girls!”

“Then share mine,” Lena responded simply.

“What.”

Lena shrugged.

“No way, Lena. You can’t be serious.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem fair that I get this to myself and you have to share a lukewarm shower with so many other girls. You can use this whenever you like.” 

Kara took Lena’s hand then and jumped up and down excitedly, “now all you need is some kind of instant food delivery device and you’ll win an award for greatest friend a person could have ever.”

Lena shook her head with a smile, pulling her hand away, “I don’t know about instant but surely there’s some places nearby that deliver.” 

Silence fell instantly over the room and Lena had to turn to look at Kara to make sure she was okay. Kara was totally slack-jawed, her eyes open wide with wonder. 

“Um, Kara? Are you oka-” Before Lena could finished she was wrapped tight in Kara’s arms in probably the best hug she’d ever received. “K-Kara… That’s kind of tight.”

“Oh,” Kara said with a breathy laugh, letting her friend go, “I’m sorry!”

“It’s no problem. Just be more careful next time,” Lena replied with a wink.

Kara was still smiling, and Lena had a feeling that she’d have to get used to the girl smiling this much, as well as get used to the tired feeling in her own cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled so much. 

“Well… We found your room…”

“Yes.”

“And I showed you most of the school…”

“Yes.”

“But I believe I promised you snacks?”

Lena raised her eyebrows then, having all but forgotten. “Yes, and you won’t get a five star review unless snacks are provided as part of the tour,” she said bringing back the joke from earlier. 

Kara was biting her lip, thinking, and Lena found it far too cute. “Well, I have some snacks in my room? So how about… you showed me yours and now I show you mine?”

A silence followed as a mischievous grin grew on Lena’s face.

“ _ Lena! _ ” Kara exclaimed, visibly embarrassed, “You’re worse than my sister’s friend Maggie…”

Lena laughed, “I couldn’t help it. It did sound vaguely dirty, after all.”

Kara pouted, turning her head to the window next to Lena’s bed. “Hey…” she said as she noticed something, “Hey! That’s my room! The window right across from yours!” Kara hopped on the bed, moving aside one of Lena’s curtains to point out her room just five feet away from them. “We’re practically neighbors!” She said excitedly. 

“Someone’s in there,” Lena said, as she moved onto the bed next to Kara to look into the other girl’s room.

“Yeah that’s just Alex,” she shrugged, “she’s probably waiting for me…” it was silent for a short moment as Kara mulled something over, “Could I take a rain check on those snacks? I know it loses me a star but Alex can be…” She didn’t want to tell Lena about her sister’s insane over-protective streak. Alex wouldn’t be happy about her little sister spending time with a ‘loathsome Luthor.’ “She can be a little much at first and I don’t want to overstimulate you on your first day…”

Lena laughed lightly, “Very well, another time is fine…” 

Kara turned to her friend and tilted her head at her, picking up that something was bothering her, “What’s up?”

“Well…” Lena said, her eyes sliding to her bedroom door, “There’s still the problem of Veronica and her goons breaking into my room tonight for whatever they’ve got planned… Is there any chance that you’d be willing to come along? I could use a friend.”

Kara nodded, “Of course. I’ll be here about ten minutes before them.”

“Well… how will you know when they’re coming?”

Kara shrugged, “I’ll know. Call it intuition.” 

 

Kara was right not to take Lena to meet her sister. Alex had her moods but she also had very strong  _ opinions _ , which she buried Kara in immediately when she opened the door to her room. Kara let Alex go on and on while she moved to plug in the string lights that hung above her bed and stretched to her desk. She glanced at her window, able to see Lena in her own room across the empty space between the buildings. Lena wasn’t paying any attention to Kara and her sister but Kara moved to shut the blinds just in case. She didn’t want Lena to see the two of them arguing, especially when it was about her.

“Look, Kara, I get that you were told to give her the tour but that didn’t mean that you had to spend the whole day with her!” Alex was waving her hands animatedly as she paced about Kara’s room. Kara said nothing and sat on her bed, watching as her sister turned on her heel to stare down at Kara. “She’s a  _ Luthor _ ! They are dangerous! If only Clark knew-”

“He does,” Kara said simply, cutting Alex off.

“He… does?” Alex raised her eyebrows at her sister waiting for an explanation. 

Kara shrugged, “He’s here on business and saw us wandering around. I already got the lecture from him.”

Alex sighed, sitting unceremoniously next to her sister and resting her head on her shoulder, “We’re just worried about you, Kara. We-I care about you… I’d never forgive myself if this girl did something to hurt you and I never even tried saying anything before it was too late.”

“She’s different, Alex. Her name doesn’t define who she is.”

Silence followed, but the sisters sat there comfortably as the minutes passed. 

Finally, Alex stood and gave Kara a concerned look, “If she does anything shady and hurts you, I know how to properly hide a body.”

Kara smiled and shook her head, “If something happened,  _ which it won’t _ , I could kick her into the sun myself. I don’t need your protection, Alex. I can take care of myself.”

Alex sighed, bending over to place a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “I wouldn’t be a good sister if I didn’t at least try.”

Alex left and Kara got up to lock her door before moving back to her window to open her blinds. Lena was sitting in her room, her hair now pulled back in a loose ponytail and a black-rimmed pair of glasses sitting on her nose. When she noticed Kara’s blinds open she looked up and smiled at her, throwing a little wave her way. Kara couldn’t keep the red from rising up her neck as she waved back at Lena, taken aback by how beautiful she looked even when dressed so casually and comfortably.

Kara forced herself to look away from the window and fell face first on her bed. Lena was going to be a problem, but not in the way Alex thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Stupid teenage girls being stupid but also Lena and Kara being so good to each other
> 
> Don't forget to comment! I thrive off of the comments and the more I get, the faster I'll write. ;)  
> (Heeey! Find me on twitter @SeventeenthStar)
> 
> OH! And here's something that actually almost made it into this chapter:   
> Kara took Lena’s hand then and jumped up and down excitedly, “now all you need is some kind of instant food delivery device and you’ll win an award for greatest friend a person could have ever.”  
> Lena shook her head with a smile, pulling her hand away, “I don’t know about instant but surely there’s some places nearby that deliver.”   
> "Lena I am so excited right now that I could kiss you," Kara said, a big grin on her face.  
> “Well then why don't you?”  
> "What?"  
> "What."


	4. Roulette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenagers being stupid teenagers and breaking rules and stuff don't do this at home kids stay in school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning that I didn't really read over this or edit it so I'm sorry if it's riddled with errors but I really wanted to get it out and start on another chapter.
> 
> Also, trigger warning for vague suicide mention.

Lena awoke to the sound of soft footsteps and giggles. She made a mental note to herself to add an extra lock on the door so she wouldn’t have to deal with something like this again. When she opened her eyes she could see Veronica standing over her looking far too pleased with herself. Veronica pulled Lena’s blankets off of her with a swift motion and Lena groaned. 

“Five more minutes,” Lena moaned as she turned on her side to face away from the intruder. 

“Very funny, Luthor,” Veronica replied, “Now care to tell me what this lost puppy was doing outside of your room on initiation night?”

Lena sat up slowly and looked behind Veronica to see Kara standing behind her. “I thought it would be better to let you sleep so I waited outside…” Kara whispered with a tilt of her head and a light wave at Lena.

Lena raised her eyebrows at Kara and then moved to get out of the bed, “She’s my puppy, so she goes where I go,” she said with a slight smile.

 

It was surprisingly easy to leave the dorms past the curfew. Security was a lot more lax in Sunwall than it was in Atron. The girls moved in a group to the boy’s dorm and up quietly to the top floor where they stood at the door to the roof. 

“Any reason we’re doing this in the boy’s building and not our own?” Lena asked annoyed as Veronica failed to open the door. 

“It’s more taboo and therefore more fun,” Veronica waved her hand at the door, “Lena would you mind?”

Lena pushed past Veronica and her friends as Kara stood silent at the back of the group. She reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a lockpick, making quick work of the door, swinging it open and moving aside for Veronica to walk through.

“I knew there was a reason I missed you,” Veronica grinned as she stepped out onto the roof, taking a deep breath of the night air. 

“Neat trick,” Kara whispered to Lena as they followed the other’s outside. 

Lena blushed lightly, hoping that it was too dark for Kara to see, “My brother gave me a lockpicking set for my sixth birthday.”

Before Kara could respond a heavy backpack was being thrown into her arms and one of the other girls was unfolding a blanket to lay it on the ground. 

“Leslie,” Veronica said motioning to the blonde girl laying down the blanket to finally introduce her, “And Siobhan,” she patted the back of the brunette who was removing an array of candles from another bag and placing them around the blanket.

“We’re not going to, like… contact the dead or something are we?” Kara asked as she unzipped the bag she’d been given to find an array of bottles. 

“Don’t be daft, pup,” Veronica said as she sat on the blanket, “we’re going to be having a lot more fun than that.

“My name is Kara…” Kara murmured as she reached in the bag to pull out one of the bottles.  _ Oh. Alcohol.  _ Somehow Kara felt relieved knowing that alcohol didn’t affect her in any way, or at least that was what the Danvers has told her. She’d never actually tried any herself.

“What was that?” Veronica asked.

“She said her name is Kara,” Lena responded almost viciously, “don’t pretend you didn’t hear her so you can continue to get her name wrong for the rest of the night.”

Kara bit her lip, watching the two girls stare each other down for the second time that day. Lena’s protectiveness of her made her cheeks feel warm. “Um… what should I do with the drinks?” She asked, trying to distract them.

“Bring them here and sit on the blanket with us,” Leslie said as she sat next to Veronica.

Siobhan and Lena both sat, but Kara stood for a moment, hesitating. Even if the alcohol wouldn’t do anything to her this still felt… wrong somehow. 

Lena gave Kara a reassuring look and she finally sat down, placing five bottles in the center of their circle. 

Veronica held out her hands for her two friends to hold, the three of them cross legged across from Lena and Kara. Lena seemed unimpressed, but Kara still felt uneasy. “We begin this meeting of the Lucy Diamond Sisterhood to welcome-”

“Lucy Diamond?” Kara asked, interrupting. 

“It’s obviously a callback to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” Lena said with a shrug, “And the dorm is named for my Grandmother who went by Lucy… Veronica probably thought it sounded cool or something.”

Veronica shot Lena a dirty look and Kara couldn’t help but chuckle, but she stopped as soon as Leslie shushed her. 

“As I was saying,” Veronica growled between gritted teeth, “to welcome and test our potential newest member; Lena Luthor.” 

Kara raised her eyebrows, although she shouldn’t have been surprised at being discluded. Lena said nothing this time, Kara figured that she didn’t care about Veronica’s so-called sisterhood enough to fight for Kara’s place in it. 

“Now light the candles,” Veronica said almost reverently as she dropped the other two girl’s hands and Siobhan did as was instructed. 

“We’re going to play a little game,” Veronica said with a sick smile, “just a trivia game.” Siobhan sat back down and began to dig through her bag again as Veronica continued, “When you get a question wrong, you drink from one of the bottles. Get enough wrong and…” Siobhan placed a Sharpie, a- wait, was that a dildo? Ew, alright. Kara cringed, but Siobhan continued to take out two more items; a liter soda bottle with the label ripped off and a plastic butter knife. Veronica picked up the butter knife and waved it in Siobhan’s face, “Siobhan, what is this?”

“You said to get a knife…”

“A kitchen knife! A metal kitchen knife! Not a plastic butter knife!” Veronica barked, throwing the knife down with the other items. 

“Well it was all I could find on such short notice…”

“Whatever, let’s just… let’s just keep going,” Veronica took a moment to compose herself as Leslie laughed beside her, “Get enough wrong and you will be violated with one of these items.”

Lena shrugged, “And if I don’t want to play your trivia game? Don’t want to be in your sisterhood?”

Veronica smiled as Leslie responded, “You don’t have to be a Sister, but it will make things.... A lot easier for you, new girl.” 

Lena knew that they were threatening her. It was either join or have her life here be miserable. Veronica had been at the school longer, had made more connections and held more sway over the other students than Lena did or ever would, really. Lena knew the curse that her name would bring her at this school, she just didn’t think that an old ‘friend’ would also use it against her. It would be easier to just go along with whatever Veronica had in store for her for the rest of the night. She could try to keep her distance after. 

“Fine,” Lena answered after grabbing one of the bottles and taking a massive swig of it, “Let’s do this Sinclair.” 

Veronica smiled as Lena handed her the bottle and she took a drink herself, “That’s my girl. Now, first question. Why did you leave Atron and come here?”

“That’s… not exactly a trivia question…” Kara said.

Veronica didn’t look at Kara as she waited for Lena to answer.

“Mother thought it would be good for me to spend some time closer to family.”

Veronica shook her head, “We both know that’s a lie, Luthor. Take a drink.”

Lena did.

“Did you come to this school by choice?”

“No.”

“So you were forced into it.”

“Yes.”

Veronica smiled at that, taking the bottle of Lena to take another drink. “Did you actually do it, then?”

Lena stared at Veronica, her eyes cold, but she stayed silent.

“C’mon Lena, spit it out,” Veronica said, “did you actually try to,” Veronica mimed a finger crossing over her throat.

“I’m not answering that,” Lena responded, finally breaking eye contact with Veronica and rubbing her arm.

Veronica sighed, “Fine. Drink.”

Lena almost seemed relieved as she took another drink.

“More than that, Lena.”

Lena shrugged and drank from the bottle for a long moment before Veronica told her to stop. Kara really didn’t understand where the fun in any of this was, but the two other girls beside Veronica seemed very entertained. 

“It’s two a.m. and you’re asleep. You hear a knock at your door, it’s your parents. You have a bottle of champagne in your cupboard, brownies on your kitchen counter, and milk in your fridge. What do you open first?”

“Pssh,” Lena said, her words slurring slightly, “Nothing! Like I’m going to accept my mother coming to my house at such an awful hour! It’s also unlikely that she’d visit.”

Veronica laughed, “Fine. We can accept that. How about… An electric train is moving north at 100mph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10mph. Which way does the smoke blow?”

“It’s an electric train. There is no smoke.”

They continued on for the next while as Kara watched them go back and forth. Veronica asking trick question after trick question, and Lena answering most of them with surprising ease which seemed to bother Veronica, but Lena was still getting drunker and drunker as they went on. Sometimes Veronica would pick up one of the bottles and drink as well. Leslie and Siobhan were passing a bottle back and forth between them and taking small sips.

“Okay, okay,” Veronica said after a Lena correctly answered a long slew of questions, “What about Jack? He know you’re here?”

Lena was quiet for a long moment, “I… I really don’t know.”

“Drink.”

“Mhm, not a fan of these liquors, Veronica. You usually,” Lena picked up a bottle, taking a small drink and making a disgusted face that Kara found very cute, “have better taste than this.”

Veronica shrugged, “Janitor’s stock isn’t exactly the best and the nearest liquor store is an hour drive. Next question.”

Kara noticed Lena move to take another drink, but moved to place a hand over Lena’s and shake her head. Lena relented. 

“You a virgin, Luthor?”

Lena shrugged, “you know that virginity is really society’s way of forcing their-”

“Just answer the question.”

“It’s a myth! Virginity is a myth!”

“Just spit it out!”

“No,” Lena said finally, “I guess that would be a no.”

“Jack?”

“Yeeeep,” Lena responded, reaching for a bottle to take a long drink despite Kara’s protests. 

Somehow Veronica seemed thrilled by this development, “I fucking knew it!”

“Just drop it, Sinclair,” Lena spat out.

Veronica laughed, “Fine. We went to an all girl’s school, ever had a sexual fantasy about one of our classmates?”

Lena raised her eyebrows, “Well, sure!”

“Wait, you went to an all girl’s school?” Kara asked, this information knew to her, but feeling her stomach flutter slightly at Lena’s admission of attraction to girls. 

Lena nodded, swaying slightly and resting her head on Kara’s shoulder. “Kara, it’s cold. How are you so warm?”

Kara bit her lip, turning to look at Veronica. “I think you should stop. She’s had enough.” 

Veronica seemed annoyed at Kara telling her what to do, but she gave Lena a long look before shrugging, “Fine, fine. Wouldn’t want her to die of alcohol poisoning.”

Kara’s eye’s widened, “Th-that happens?”

The girls around her, including Lena, laughed. “Kara, how are you so cute?” Lena said between laughs. 

“It’s not lethal in moderation,” Veronica said, picking it up and holding it out to Kara, “Go on, Dog Girl. It won’t kill you.”

“It really is okay, Kara,” Lena mumbled, her head still resting on her shoulder, “but don’t let her pressure you into it if you don’t want to… but it is nice.” Lena smiled a little and Kara took a drink from the bottle, immediately spitting out it’s contents, making sure to miss the blanket.

“People  _ like _ this?” She asked, her face that of pure disgust and the other girls laughed again. 

“Okay, okay Lena,” Veronica said, standing up, “come on it’s time to get your new name.”

Lena looked up at her, confused, “don’t tell me you have codenames.”

Veronica pulled Lena onto her feet, “Not codenames, Lena. I’m Roulette. Leslie is Livewire, and Siobhan over there is Silver Banshee,” Veronica’s voice fell, “she’s usually impossible to get to shut up but she’s been quiet all night because she doesn’t like Kara.”

“Hey! I can hear you!” Siobhan barked, standing up.

“Wait… why don’t you like me? I don’t… I don’t really know you…” Kara said, a small crinkle appearing between her eyes. 

“Itsssa boy,” Lena slurred with a laugh, “its gotta be.”

“She likes your little nerd tag along,” Leslie answered, offering a hand to help Kara up.

“Wait, Winn? You like Winn?”

“Shut up!” Siobhan barked again and Leslie shushed her.

“You’re the one who needs to shut up, Banshee. We’re not exactly supposed to be up here, remember?”

Veronica was leading Lena to the edge of the roof, both of them stumbling a little as they walked. “Lena, now. Look at it,” Veronica waved an arm to indicate the school grounds, “everything the light touches! Is our Queendom!”

“Are you quoting Lion King?” Kara said, from where she was standing next to the blanket.

“Itsss dark out,” Lena laughed.

Kara smiled at Lena’s cheeky attitude towards Veronica. 

“You get the point,” Veronica said, turning to look at her friends, “She needs a title. A name.”

Leslie and Siobhan exchanged looks and then shrugged.

“You two are useless.”

Silence followed as Lena and Veronica stood by the edge of the building, Veronica eyeing Lena and Lena staring out at the school. “How about Luthor the Lioness?” Veronica offered finally, “It does go with the whole ‘L’ thing you Luthors love so much.” 

Lena shrugged, swaying slightly and Kara began to feel nervous with the two of them standing so close to the edge.

“That’s not very Lioness of you,” Veronica said disapprovingly.

“Uh… Maybe you two should… come back over here… away from the edge,” Kara said nervously.

Veronica shushed her. It came out long and over exaggerated. Kara couldn’t decide whether she disliked Veronica more sober or drunk. “We’re not done yet,” Veronica said and patted Lena on the back, Lena lurching forward just slightly, “you should roar like a lion. Then we’ll call this meeting over.”

“That’s embarrassing,” Lena said, shaking her head.

“We made Banshee scream in the middle of math class for a straight minute,” Leslie said.

“And Livewire had to lick a battery,” Siobhan said with a laugh.

Kara wondered if Veronica had to do anything to earn herself the name Roulette, but somehow she doubted that she did anything. 

“Fine,” Lena pouted, “but we might have to run back to the dorm if I wake someone up.”

“Just do it, Luthor,” Veronica slurred.

“Watch your ste-” Kara began to say, but Lena turned, her foot only half on the building before she panicked and began to fall backwards. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 3 a.m. last night and at the time I felt like it was pretty funny? But that could have just been my tired mind. 
> 
> Thanks for reading this far. New chapter soon! I'm not going to tease for the next chapter this time so you'll just have to live with worry over the gays for like a day.  
> If you really want to know you can come at me on twitter I would love the attention: https://twitter.com/SeventeenthStar


	5. Vortex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's gay. That's mostly it for this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for the long wait on this one. I really struggled writing this chapter, but to make it up to you I tried to make it Exceptionally Gay™.  
> Also, I didn't have time to edit this but I REALLY wanted to get it out so I'm sorry if it's riddled with errors I know I am trash. 
> 
> Now I'm off to go see Wonder Woman for the second time. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Kara lay awake in her bed. She hadn’t been able to sleep since she’d carried a passed out Lena back to her room before finding her way back to her own dorm and her own bed. 

The sun was rising and Kara felt thankful it was a Saturday, otherwise she knew she’d struggle with staying awake during class. She glanced at her window, her stomach sinking at the thought of what had almost happened to Lena just hours ago. They weren’t close, not yet, but Kara would have never forgiven herself if she’d fallen to her death. Not when she knew very well she could have done something.

The other girls hadn’t really noticed Kara speed to Lena, hadn’t noticed the ease of which she held her before the other’s finally got themselves together enough to help. She closed her eyes tightly, turning on her side and facing away from the window. What would have happened if she had been revealed? 

Alex always said it would be dangerous, that people wouldn’t accept her. That they’d come for her, attack her, try to take her and test on her. The girls on that roof weren’t exactly the most trustworthy of people, and Kara was usually willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. No, oddly enough the only person there that she could even imagine sharing her secret with was Lena… and Lena was a  _ Luthor. _ Kara’s cousin Clark had taken up being a caped hero in Metropolis and the Luthor family hadn’t even tried to hide their disgust towards him. Aliens weren’t to be trusted, no. They were to be exterminated. Especially those as powerful as Superman. They’d released a public statement condemning him saying as much. 

Lena had to be different. She was nothing like how Kara would have imagined a Luthor being. Holier than thou, conniving, ambitious to a fault. Lena had to be good, she could sense it. 

And then she remembered again the intense fear that she’d felt watching Lena’s eyes widen as she’d stumbled over the edge. Kara had never been so  _ afraid _ before, at least not since coming to earth. Nothing could quite match the fear of losing one’s planet. 

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep, Kara sat up finally and moved to the window. She couldn’t see Lena, but somehow knowing she was there calmed Kara down. She placed her hand on the cold glass and closed her eyes, concentrating. 

_ There it is.  _ Kara was pleased to hear the steady sound of Lena’s heart, somehow so peaceful in sleep despite what she’d been through. 

 

It was noon when Lena woke up. Her head aching and with a slight churn in her stomach. The hangover was to be expected, but what a way to spend her first full day in Sunwall. 

“At least I’m still alive,” she said to her stuffed Stitch as she slowly sat up. She’d picked up speaking to her stuffed animals at a young age. Lena never had too many friends and somehow it helped her feel less alone, although she fully understood that they were inanimate and would never respond. It also helped her solve numerous programming and engineering problems in her past to explain it out loud to something, she’d read about others doing the same. Many programmers called it “rubber duck debugging,” but really she just felt comfortable knowing that it was a real thing and she wasn’t in one way or another losing her mind. She may not be a Luthor by blood, but mental illness may run through her family in a different way.

She got out of bed and walked into her bathroom to splash her face with some cold water. Sighing and drying her face off with a clean towel, she began to search under the sink to see if there was something to ease her headache. Annoyed, she kicked the cupboard door when she found nothing and heard a soft knock at her door. 

Lena battled with herself for a moment. She wasn’t exactly looking her greatest with bedhead and her wrinkled pajamas, but did she really care enough about what people at this school thought of her?  _ Never let them see you unmade,  _ her mother’s head instructed in her head,  _ a good-looking and well put together woman always has the upperhand.  _

As Lena hesitated at her door there was another knock and her head complained so much about the sound that she unlocked the door and swung it open to find Kara Danvers. Kara’s smile was huge and sunny; the complete opposite of how Lena felt. Still, something about seeing her new friend, the girl who had saved her life, made her feel just a little bit better.

Kara held up a brown paper bag, “I read online that greasy foods help with hangovers so I brought burgers and painkillers!”

Lena grabbed at the bag. “Kara, you are such a lifesaver,” she joked as she motioned the other girl inside.

Kara shook her head, feeling embarrassed. “I’m just trying to be a good friend.”

Lena sat back on her black couch, patting the spot next to her. “Really, Kara. Thank you.”

Kara sat next to her, smiling softly and reaching over to swipe the bag from Lena’s hands. “Hero gets her burgers first.” She pulled three burgers out of the bag and then handed it back to Lena.

“...Three burgers, Kara?”

Kara had already taken a huge bite out of her first burger and was trying to chew and swallow quickly before responding with her mouth half full, “Saving your life made me hungry.”

Lena laughed.

 

They spent the day inside Lena’s room, never leaving. Lena ordered them chinese food (Kara had demanded potstickers “a true hero’s meal” and Lena could never say no to her new friend) and they marathoned Wynonna Earp on Netflix. It was well past midnight when Kara finally pulled herself away from her friend, surprised by how comfortable they were together even though they’d only just met the day before. 

The next day, Sunday, Kara sat at her desk and studied. From time to time she would look up and see Lena in her room. Kara wondered what she was thinking about, what did she do when they weren’t together? They hadn’t spoken too much about their hobbies, at least not yet. Kara knew, though, that she would get the chance to find out eventually. She and Lena just clicked, like Kara had never quite clicked with anyone else before. Everything just sort of felt right when they were together.

Kara prevented herself from going to visit Lena on that day, deciding that she didn’t want to scare Lena off by seeming too clingy or too needy. She’d resigned herself to waiting til Monday. On Monday, Kara went through all of her classes with an anxious stomach. Why was she so nervous? During her lunch break she looked for Lena but couldn’t find her. She sat outside at her favorite table with Winn, Alex, James, and Maggie. Kara had nearly finished her lunch when Veronica, Leslie, and Siobhan. Without asking, Veronica sat next to Kara.

“Hey, Supergirl,” Veronica greeted with mischief in her voice.

“Uh, hi Veronica,” Kara responded.

Veronica raised her eyebrows at Kara.

“I’m sorry. Hello Roulette,” Kara corrected with sarcasm strong in her voice, “why are you here?”

Veronica seemed pleased, “An invitation, to the next Vortex party.”

Kara couldn’t hide her surprise. The Vortex Club were the so-called elite of the school, all wealthy and overflowing with school spirit. Kara felt like it was more of an excuse for the rich students to get together and party. The teachers always seemed to turn a blind eye to the antics behind the Vortex VIP curtain. Kara knew well that there was underage drinking and possibly drugs, it just wasn’t really something she’d usually attend. 

“Are you sure about that? I didn’t think you liked me,” Kara said.

Veronica regarded Kara for a moment. “Bring Luthor with you.”

“I never said I was going.”

Before Veronica could respond Winn cleared his throat and placed a hand on Kara’s arm. “She’s kidding! We’ll be there!”

Veronica turned to him, her face unreadable. She glanced at Siobhan and then stood up, “Very well, Supergirl. You can bring your Super Friends behind the VIP curtain. Can’t wait to see you there.”

Veronica and her friends walked away and they sat in silence before Maggie finally spoke, “So she’s a bitch.”

The group broke into laughter. 

 

Kara’s last class of the day was engineering and she could barely contain her excitement. When she stepped inside, Lena was already sitting at their table. She seemed engaged in a spiral notebook in front of her. Kara bounced over to her and sat down but Lena didn’t seem to notice. Was Lena mad at her for some reason?

“Uh, Lena?” 

Lena didn’t look up from her notebook, “Mhm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Oh!” Lena looked up finally and slapped the book shut. “I was just, uh, going over some notes.” 

Something seemed off but Kara couldn’t place it. Was Lena hiding what was in the notebook? Kara had a feeling that she was lying, but she pushed it aside. If she was lying, the notebook was probably just her journal or something else slightly embarrassing that she didn’t want Kara to see.

Lena smiled and Kara felt all of her concern dissipate in a single moment. Lena wouldn’t lie to her over something serious. Why would Kara be worried, anyway? 

“It’s good to see you,” Lena spoke quietly, almost like she was sharing a secret with Kara. Something private, personal, special. Kara felt goosebumps--Actual goosebumps!-- on her arm.

“Uh, yeah,” Kara shook her head and reached up to fiddle with her glasses, “You, uh, you too. It’s good to see you too.”

Lena tilted her head slightly, taking in the sight of a flustered Kara. Before she could say anything else the bell rang. Somehow Kara felt that she’d been saved by the bell. 

Kara didn’t notice when exactly, but at some point during class the two girls had moved so close together that their arms were touching. Kara couldn’t pay attention to Professor Henshaw at all, too engrossed by her closeness to her friend. Lena was beautiful and Kara couldn’t stop herself from almost staring throughout the whole class, overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to touch Lena’s hair, her face. 

These feelings. They weren’t “friendly” feelings at all. No, Kara realised, she was very attracted to Lena. And why wouldn’t she be? She was smart, obviously driven, and gorgeous. Kara could tell that she had a kind heart despite her name and she felt just a bit warmer being around her. 

She bit her lip as she watched Lena brush her hair behind her ear and write something in the notebook in front of her. It took too long for her to realize that Lena was looking at her. Green eyes, so close to her own. And Lena smelled so  _ good. _

“Kara? Kara you okay?”

“Yes! Yes I’m fine, I’m sorry…” Kara said, unsure of what exactly to say.

“The final bell rang, Kara. And you were staring.” Lena said with a bit of concern present on her face.

“Oh. I just have a lot on my mind. I, uh, tend to zone out.” 

Lena smiled, “Especially in engineering class, it seems.”

Kara shrugged, “I guess I just don’t find it very interesting.”

“You’re crazy,” Lena said, “I love engineering. I love the idea of creating something that can really help people… you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I can get that. That’s why I want to go into journalism. I want to help people by telling their stories, sharing the truth.” Kara responded with a smile.

“I can see you as a reporter. It suits you.” 

Kara chuckled, “I guess I take after my cousin.”

Lena’s smile fell and Kara wished that she could simply will it back. “I suppose you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: More gay happens, we find out a little bit more about Lex's current status and Lana's past.
> 
> Please comment I thrive off of the comments and that was all that got me through writing this chapter.   
> If you wanna know what my writing process is like (lots of crying, mostly) or just wanna bother me about writing you can find me on twitter @SeventeenthStar.  
> https://twitter.com/SeventeenthStar


	6. Locked Windows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Window talks and awkward meetings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Am. So. Sorry. 
> 
> I know this update has taken forever, but I was crazy busy for a couple of weeks and then my girlfriend broke up with me and I was way too depressed to write ;n; I hope that you will forgive me. 
> 
> Ah, short and maybe not great... but yeah here's this. I'm already working on the next chapter which will either involve an ex, a party, or a brother. Or maybe two of those things. The vortex party won't be a lot like the one in-game but I'm sure you'll enjoy the shenanigans and surprise!danger that takes place during it because I want everyone to suffer.

It didn’t take long for Lena to become a regular part of Kara’s life. They would meet between classes despite most of Kara’s being in the opposite direction of Lena’s. Sure, Kara was often late to most of her classes now but it was worth it for just a little bit of extra time with her friend. They sat together outside during lunch, sometimes with Kara’s friends and sometimes just the two of them. Lena liked Kara’s friends, but she couldn’t help herself from really enjoying their lunches alone. She wanted Kara to herself.

Posters began to appear on the walls all around the school advertising the upcoming Vortex party, only a week away now. Kara couldn’t escape the sinking feeling that going to the party was a bad idea, but it was all Winn had talked about for days and she didn’t want to let him (or any of her other friends) down by not going. She was sure that if she and Lena didn’t go, her friends wouldn’t be accepted in without her.

Only a week until the party, but Kara met Lena three weeks ago. It already felt like they’d known each other over several lifetimes. 

It was a few minutes after sunset and Kara couldn’t help but notice Lena sitting listlessly at her dorm window, staring up at the sky as she often did when she was trying to solve a problem. Green eyes met Kara’s and she jumped a little bit, embarrassed to be caught staring. Lena waved her over and Kara opened her own window and waved at her friend.

“Hello Kara,” Lena said with a mischievous smile, “Who needs texting when we have windows.”

“Better than Macs,” Kara responded playfully and Lena rolled her eyes, but her smile was still unmistakable, “Is something wrong? I noticed you watch the stars when you’re thinking over something difficult.”

Lena’s eyes slowly found Kara’s and she quirked an eyebrow. Kara hated when she did that; it made her heart flutter and her cheeks flush. “You’re very observant for a girl with her head always in the clouds, Miss Danvers.”

Kara didn’t respond. Lena was trying to deflect the question which meant that it was actually something important. Yes, Kara was easily distracted and somewhat oblivious but Lena was her favorite puzzle, one she found herself slowly figuring out each day. 

Lena sighed, giving in. “It’s… family matters.”

Understanding flooded through Kara and she hated that they were in two separate buildings when she wanted to reach out and touch her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry, Lena. Would you… would you like to talk about it?”

The brunette looked back up at the stars, allowing a small silence to pass between them as she considered what it was she wanted. “No,” she said finally, “Maybe I’ll have a little fun out of the surprise when it happens.”

Kara felt a shiver run through her body and goosebumps rose on her arms. She attributed it to the chilly night breeze. “It doesn’t sound like the good kind of surprise.”

Lena looked at her again as a smile grew across her face but it didn’t meet her eyes, “Surprises from the Luthors are never fun.”

Kara felt uneasy. Something was obviously bothering Lena, she was never  _ this  _ vague, but Kara couldn’t help but feel like her friend was messing with her somehow. Was this some kind of a game to her, or is this how she dealt with some of her more difficult emotions? From what Kara knew of Lena’s home life it wouldn’t really be a surprise if this was normal among her family. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of them looking up at the stars. Kara loved the stars, she loved the sky. Being able to look up like this made her feel just a little closer to home. No matter what world you were on, it was still the same sky. It was a small comfort, but one that Kara was very fond of. 

“Hey, Kara?” Lena looked nervous, which was rare for her. She was biting her lip slightly and watching Kara with careful green eyes with a glint of curiosity, “Could you tell me about your parents?”

Kara tilted her head, Lena noted that Kara reminded her of a puppy whenever she did that and it was quite adorable. “Well, I wasn’t really around long enough to really get to know Jeremiah, but-”

“No, I mean… Like, your birth parents?”

“Oh.”

Lena shook her head, waving her hand in front of her, slightly panicked, “It’s ok, Kara. I just… You’ve never talked about them. I’m sorry I said anything.”

“Scientists.”

“What?”

“My parents. They were scientists. They loved learning and helping people… My dad used to say that a day was wasted if you didn’t either learn something new or make a positive difference in someone’s life.”

Lena smiled faintly as she could see Kara’s fondness for her parents apparent on her face and in her voice. 

“Stronger together,” Kara whispered with a surprising amount of reverence, “it was the family motto.”

Lena considered this for a moment. If her family had any sort of motto she imagined that it wouldn’t be so… inclusive and positive. Maybe something about pride or cunning? Or always being on top. She sighed, wishing that she had ever had loving parents like Kara’s. She hated that she couldn’t remember her birth mother more clearly. Kara had lost her family, but she loved them and that love still lingered, still gave her strength. She was incredible in this way. 

“They would have really liked you, Lena. Especially my mom.”

Lena was taken out of her thoughts and was now looking at a smiling Kara. “It’s nice of you to say that.”

A glint of frustration showed in the crinkle above Kara’s nose, “I mean it. I like to think I’m a good judge of character and so were my parents, and also you’re smart… they were smart. You want to help people, they helped people. You would fit in perfectly in my family.”

Lena took in a sharp breath, imagining herself in a world where she could be considered part of Kara’s family. Kara was so warm, so accepting, and just… Bright. Kara was bright like early morning sunshine. Her family was likely at least a bit like her, even her adoptive family. She let herself explore the idea before reality settled in. Yes, Lena was smart. Smart enough to know that her friend thought too much of her. She would never belong in that world. 

“What was your mom like?”

“She was…” Lena looked back up at the sky, “I remember she was always moving. Even when she’d be relaxing in bed she’d be moving her feet round and round without even noticing. Whenever we had to wait in line for anything, she would sway from side to side in a way that reminded me of waves. Her eyes were green, like mine, and she used to wake me up in the middle of the night to go on drives or to diners for a burger or pancakes…”

“She sounds very cool,” Kara said with a smile.

“I think she was broken.”

There was a moment of silence after that. Kara could swear that Lena was tearing up, but only slightly.

“I don’t know why or how, I just… I know that she was. We were on one of our late night drives when the accident happened, I don’t think she was fully aware that she was driving, but… I don’t know, I was young. Memories change and fade.”

“Even if she was, Lena, she obviously loved you very much. She seems the adventurous sort too. Like you.”

Lena’s mouth twitched, showing only a hint of a smile. “It’s late, Kara. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kara didn’t move or respond, Instead she watched Lena with an unreadable expression as she moved to close her window.

“Wait,” Kara finally said just before Lena forced the window closed, “Think of puppies or something.”

“What?” Lena’s eyebrows raised in confusion.

“Just, like… I don’t want you to go to sleep with all of these sad thoughts in your head. You might have bad dreams if you did…”

Lena tried to hide her smile at her friend’s adorableness. “Alright, Kara. Puppies, ponies… Pizza? All happy words beginning with P to think about before falling asleep.”

“Well, and then there’s the obvious one-”

“Don’t say penis.”

“-Penis.” Kara’s grin was unmistakable even in the moonlight. 

“You’re so juvenile,” Lena laughed.

“And yet you still spend all your time with me, Miss Mature.”

“It’s because being next to you makes me look good.”

“Hey!” Kara exclaimed, mock betrayal showing on her face.

Lena laughed for a few seconds as Kara grinned at her, obviously pleased with herself for being able to help her friend smile before entering dreamland. “Goodnight, Kara.”

“Sweet dreams, Lena.”

  
  


It didn’t take long for Kara to learn what the so-called “Luthor Family Surprise” was as she stood in the hallway two days later face-to-face with Lena’s mother, Lillian. Their new principal. 

Lillian was nothing like Lena in looks, which really wasn’t surprising since they weren’t truly related by blood, but she was so much like Lena in the way she carried herself. Lillian Luthor was obviously a proud woman, someone who demanded attention without any words the moment she entered a room. She stood with a straight back and almost always had a smile on her face, but it wasn’t warm… wasn’t welcoming. No, Lillian’s smile seemed to hint that she knew some secret that no one else around her knew, she carried whatever it was alone and it gave her power. 

Power. Lillian was a scientist and businesswoman herself. Why take over a school in this manner?

Kara instantly missed Cat Grant, as demanding as she could be. 

“Lena,” Lillian greeted the girls.

They’d run into Lillian on their way to their first classes of the day and Kara was totally unprepared for any of this. 

“Mother,” Lena responded, but somehow there was a small hint of desperation in her steady word. 

“It has been so long since I’ve seen you, Lena. Not since you left for this school year to fly to Ireland.”

“Wait, so when she came back you didn’t even go to the airport or something to see her?” Kara interjected. 

Lillian’s eyes moved to Kara and she examined her closely as though she hadn’t noticed her standing there before. “Lena, who is this?”

“This is Kara. She’s my friend.”

“Kara Danvers,” Kara introduced herself, holding out a hand to shake Lillian’s. 

The older woman’s eyes narrowed as she ignored Kara’s hand. “Lena, I was hoping that this move would be good for you. That you might make better friends.” She turned back to Lena, “I expect you to find peers more acceptable.”

Lena’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t seem bothered in the slightest and she kept eye contact with her so-called mother. 

Kara, on the other hand, didn’t like this woman. Didn’t like her words. Didn’t like the way she spoke down to her daughter rather than with love. Her hand balled up into a fist and she took a step forward only for Lena to take her hand for an instant, squeeze it, and let go without looking at her. 

“Kara is a good friend, mother. I hope that you can start to trust in my decisions.”

“I will when you start making good ones, dear,” Lillian replied, turning away from the girls, “I need to get to my office. Come by after class.” She walked away from the two girls as they watched her go. Kara’s mouth was slightly agape, but Lena’s face was unreadable. 

“You really should have warned me about this, Lena,” Kara said quietly. 

Lena looked at her, a small smile on her lips, “Yes, but then I would have missed out on the look on your face during the announcement as we were walking into school, and you would have just made yourself all nervous worrying about it anyway. This way was more natural.”

“She hates me!”

Lena shrugged, turning to head to her class. “Yeah, well, she pretty much hates everyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter. Also, I promise that there is a plot here... we're getting there... I just enjoy the girls just... being together way too much. 
> 
> Anyway, if you wanna yell at me or tell me I'm pretty because I'm sad you can find me on tumblr or twitter.  
> www.seventeenthstar.tumblr.com   
> www.twitter.com/seventeenthstar


	7. A Mother's Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh, surprise?

Kara learned what the so-called “Luthor Family Surprise” was a lot sooner than she’d expected as she stood in the hallway two days later face-to-face with Lena’s mother, Lillian. Their new principal. 

Lillian was nothing like Lena in looks, which really wasn’t surprising since they weren’t truly related by blood, but she was so much like Lena in the way she carried herself. Lillian Luthor was obviously a proud woman, someone who demanded attention without any words the moment she entered a room. She stood with a straight back and almost always had a smile on her face, but it wasn’t warm… wasn’t welcoming. No, Lillian’s smile seemed to hint that she knew some secret that no one else around her knew, she carried whatever it was alone and it gave her power. 

Power. Lillian was a scientist and businesswoman herself. Why take over a school in this manner?

Kara instantly missed Cat Grant, as demanding as she could be. 

“Lena,” Lillian greeted the girls.

They’d run into Lillian on their way to their first classes of the day and Kara was totally unprepared for any of this. 

“Mother,” Lena responded, but somehow there was a small hint of desperation in her steady word. 

“It has been so long since I’ve seen you, Lena. Not since you left for this school year to fly to Ireland.”

“Wait, so when she came back you didn’t even go to the airport or something to see her?” Kara interjected. 

Lillian’s eyes moved to Kara and she examined her closely as though she hadn’t noticed her standing there before. “Lena, who is this?”

“This is Kara. She’s my friend.”

“Kara Danvers,” Kara introduced herself, holding out a hand to shake Lillian’s. 

The older woman’s eyes narrowed as she ignored Kara’s hand. “Lena, I was hoping that this move would be good for you. That you might make better friends.” She turned back to Lena, “I expect you to find peers more acceptable.”

Lena’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t seem bothered in the slightest and she kept eye contact with her so-called mother. 

Kara, on the other hand, didn’t like this woman. Didn’t like her words. Didn’t like the way she spoke down to her daughter rather than with love. Her hand balled up into a fist and she took a step forward only for Lena to take her hand for an instant, squeeze it, and let go without looking at her. 

“Kara is a good friend, mother. I hope that you can start to trust in my decisions.”

“I will when you start making good ones, dear,” Lillian replied, turning away from the girls, “I need to get to my office. Come by after class.” She walked away from the two girls as they watched her go. Kara’s mouth was slightly agape, but Lena’s face was unreadable. 

“You really should have warned me about this, Lena,” Kara said quietly. 

Lena looked at her, a small smile on her lips, “Yes, but then I would have missed out on the look on your face during the announcement as we were walking into school, and you would have just made yourself all nervous worrying about it anyway. This way was more natural.”

“She hates me!”

Lena shrugged, turning to head to her class. “Yeah, well, she pretty much hates everyone.”

 

After class Lena did as she was told and headed for her mother’s new office. With each step she was reminded how her life here was about to be thrown into turmoil, thanks to the unwanted arrival of her so-called mother. Chances were high that Lillian would return to micromanaging Lena’s life as she did before sending her off to boarding school. Lillian often reminded her that she wasn’t Luthor, but she still seemed to want Lena to be just like her… Or to control her. 

Lena had managed to slip out of class before Kara could stop her. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle her warmth right before the cold of Lillian, it was too stark of a contrast and would throw Lena off. No, one had to always be on guard around Lillian Luthor. She never did anything without expecting to get something out of it.

Lena stopped in front of the door to the office suddenly.

_ By God, my mother is Cersei Lannister.  _

Lena shook the thought away and walked straight through the door without knocking. Her rudeness would hopefully make Lillian at least a little uncomfortable.

Lillian was standing, gazing out the window behind her desk with a glass in her hand. Most likely her mother’s favorite bourbon. 

“Mother, alcohol isn’t allowed on school grounds. Shouldn’t you be setting an example.”

Lillian scoffed, “Dealing with this many teenagers requires I be at least a little tipsy.” 

Lena rolled her eyes and sat in one of the chairs in front of her mother’s desk, dropping her bag unceremoniously with a  _ thud. _

That got Lillian’s attention. Lena had to hold back a pleased smile. Instead, as her mother turned to look at her with raised brows Lena chose to cross her arms and lean back comfortably in the chair. Her mother’s expression turned unreadable as she placed her glass on her desk.

_ She’ll stay standing. Always have the higher ground above your opponent, Lena.  _ Her brother’s voice echoed in her head as she watched her mother carefully. Lena had made herself overly comfortable in her mother’s space and she wasn’t happy with that at all. 

“How has school been going?” Lillian asked, but Lena knew better than to think that she cared at all… No matter how much she wanted her to.

“Cut to the chase, mother. You really  _ must _ be busy.”

Lillian’s smile wasn’t friendly, no. It was perfectly calculated and proud. “A mother can’t ask how her daughter is doing?”

Lena didn’t say anything, arching an eyebrow and just watching Lillian, waiting for an answer.

“While you were in class I looked up your little  _ friend _ .” Lillian pressed her lips together into a thin line. She was probably assuming that Lena and Kara were an item, Lena had a few girlfriends in the past and Lillian had never approved. Lena never cared. 

But now Lena dropped her eyes, looking down and to her left. At the mention of Kara her heart had jumped, even if her mother hadn’t even said her name.  _ Weakness _ , Lena thought,  _ that’s weakness. Let it go. _

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Lena responded with a slight playfulness in her voice. 

“You know exactly who I’m referring to. You’re the one who wanted me to be upfront now stop being so coy.”

Lena sighed and met her mother’s eyes, “What about her, mother? Come to tell me that she’s below our station? That she’s a silly little farm girl who will go nowhere?” Lena bit her lip, “Or perhaps you’ve discovered her ties to Clark Kent?”

“He sent your brother to prison, Lena.”

“Lex got himself there.”

Lena didn’t think the air could get any more tense; she was wrong. They stared at each other for a moment. Lena missed her brother, but he hurt people. That wasn’t right and now he was being punished for it. If Lillian had it her way, she’d allow her son to freely murder any “suspected alien” on the planet. 

Not many people knew why Lex did what he did. A psychotic break, they called it. He was convinced that his best friend was an alien and needed to be eradicated. Lex still sits in his cell muttering about how dangerous he is. Yeah, right. Clark Kent is an all-powerful alien sent from another planet to enslave humanity. 

Lena rubbed at her arms, uncomfortable with the silence. “What do you want?” She asked quietly, now more reserved. 

“Just find better company, Lena,” Lillian said flatly, “I don’t want you to regret placing your trust in someone like her.”

_ Was that… was that a threat?  _

Lena grabbed her bag and stood up. “We’ll see, mother,” and she walked out the door without waiting for a reply, but if she’d turned back she would have noticed the grin on her mother’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy, it took me forever to get this out and I apologize! I've been weirdly busy.
> 
> Some stuff that's coming in future chapters:  
> Evil plots, gay, Lillian being the worst, swimming, gay, and oh yeah more gay.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time: Kara's cousin Clark shows up and isn't happy to see her with a Luthor. Kara and Lena grow closer as friends as they continue the tour, moving to the dorms. Kara gets to see Lena's new room, and Lena gets to meet Alex. 
> 
> Please don't forget to comment or follow me on twitter or tumblr!! I hope you enjoyed it!


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